How To Save A Life
by Little Lovely
Summary: Songfic. How to Save a Life by The Fray. Sakura visits Sasuke's apartment three years after he left, and Sasuke just happens to be drawn back to Konoha on that same day. A lesson is learned on Sasuke's side of the story. Reviews are nice to see from you.


Song fic: How to Save a Life - Naruto style

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, but I do own this song by The Fray! -.Blinks as sirens being blaring.- Shoot! The cops are coming to arrest me for plagiarism! Alright, alright! I don't own How to Save a Life, either!! ;;**_

P.S. - I suggest you actually listen to the song when reading this. I think that be more of an impact on the story. Just wait until it gets to the part with the

Much hearts from,

Little Lovely

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Sakura stood morosely in Sasuke's apartment, breathing in what was left of his musk: sandalwood and summer. Her lips in a curved in a wry smile, noting the irony between his summery aroma and his cold disposition. Her jade eyes trailed over the bed, left somewhat creased since the last time its occupant had laid on it. She walked further in, a hand over her heart, while the other traced over the bureau, one of the few pieces of furniture left behind.

How long ago had it been? A year? No, it was three years ago. Three long years ago he left.

Sakura's eyes narrowed and her face exploded into a myriad of emotions: Determination against crying, Concentration then backing the aforementioned, then Weakness then stepping in to burden the first two. Her shoulders hunched and her back bent forward as the battle of the ages clashed within herself. '_Damn it,_' she thought. She bit her lips, drawing blood from the lower one as she prevented a sob from coming out from them. After a minute or two, Sakura calmed herself, and she lifted her head proudly. "Ha! No more of that nonsense," she said loudly.

She continued her tour around the apartment, starting to cheer up as she remembered the good times. She even gave out a short laugh as she remembered the time Naruto had convinced Sasuke to join on the 'mission' to see what was behind Kakashi-sensei's mask. She was just about to leave. As she turned back from the doorway to look through the apartment, a thought went through her mind. Almost mechanically, Sakura travelled to the window and lifted the shade, letting in the sunlight that had been too long shut out. She basked in the new warmth of the room when she happened to look down at the sill.

A frame lay facedown, gathering dust in its lonely position. She empathized with it, oddly enough. She laughed aloud as she lifted the frame upright and thought about how silly that was. She smiled down at the photo, expecting some sort of thing that Sasuke would tolerate enough to have in his apartment. Sakura's heart skipped a beat as she took in the photo's contents.

Detemination and Concentration could no longer stand tall anymore. Their barriers fell, and Weakness took over.

It was the team photo. Team 7. Team Kakashi. The three most unlikely friends, was her first opinion; in Naruto's case, at least.

Tears bubbled over and came spilling down her cheeks, then down onto the glass that protected the snapshot. She held the picture closer to her bosom, and a wracking sob emerged from her long, chained down feelings. "Sasuke-kun...You really left us behind...," she sobbed. "Sasuke-kun, I'm sorry..I'm so sorry..."

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Uchiha Sasuke watched in slight confusion at Sakura's actions. '_What is she doing here?_' he thought, feeling a little more than disconcerted. He had been hiding in the shadows with a jutsu Orochimaru had taught him a while back, and now was the only time he was thankful for it.

His midnight eyes stared, slightly narrowed, at the pink-haired kunoichi. For the life of him, he could honestly never entirely understand her. When she was alone, she had a glazed look in her eyes, and she always hunched over, like she had done not too long ago. When she was with Naruto, or Ino, she seemed not to have a care in the world. And in battle...Sasuke inwardly shivered. He had witnessed her ferocity, even if she didn't realize the emotion was there.

Sasuke felt uncomfortable seeing Sakura expose her weakness over one photograph. He was about to morph out of the room when Itachi's words came floating into his mind, unbidden. "_Live pathetically..._," his brother had said. Sasuke paused a moment, and turned back to Sakura's still shivering form. A teeny, tiny pang went through him. He closed his eyes in his customary way when he was faced with a predicament. There was no way in hell that he was going to adhere to his brother. Besides, she deserved better than to still believe that he, himself, had a side that would allow her to love him.

He turned around and stepped towards Sakura. He opened his mouth to speak as he neared her, but stopped short when he heard Sakura say something somewhat indistinctly.

"Sakura..."

She straightened her back, but she seemed not to have heard him. Her head turned slowly towards the radio that was perched on the nightstand next to Sasuke's bed. She switched it on, and after a minute of tuning, she finally found a station.

A slow piano tune came on, followed by a man's voice. Sasuke noticed Sakura's eyes become strained and another tear rolled down her cheek. He looked away from her face, beginning to regret his decision of coming out from the shadows. Maybe his brother's "Live pathetically" was the best advice ever given to a boy who had no interaction with a female for quite some time. Suddenly, the words of the song made him snap back to attention.

_Step one you say we need to talk_

_He walks you say sit down it's just a talk_

_He smiles politely back at you_

_You stare politely right on through_

_Some sort of window to your right_

_As he goes left and you stay right_

_Between the lines of fear and blame_

_You begin to wonder why you came_

Sakura began mouthing the words as her eyes closed against the sunlight pooling in. Sasuke took another step forward, shocked at the irony of it all. He wanted this song over with, but he had to know what happened next.

_Where did I go wrong, I lost a friend_

_Somewhere along in the bitterness_

_And I would have stayed up with you all night_

_Had I known how to save a life_

The Uchiha sat numbly on the opposite side of the bed. He couldn't believe how this described he and Sakura. The kunoichi still did not acknowledge the other's presence, yet.

_Let him know that you know best_

_'Cause after all you do know best_

_Try to slip past his defense_

_Without granting innocence_

_Lay down a list of what is wrong_

_The things you've told him all along_

_And pray to God he hears you_

_And pray to God he hears you_

This part Sasuke didn't like so much. No one knew what was best for him; only he, himself, knew. And that was to kill Itachi and begin the Uchiha clan anew. Another thing, he didn't like anyone slipping past his defenses, and he certainly didn't need to be lectured about what was right, and what was wrong. But he felt a tiny, tiny, tiny pang of guilt as it slowly dawned on him that, the night he left Konoha, he did not listen to Sakura. Well, he had, but did not adhere to it.

_Where did I go wrong, I lost a friend_

_Somewhere along in the bitterness_

_And I would have stayed up with you all night_

_Had I known how to save a life_

This chorus caused him to look over to Sakura, causing him to wonder why she had yet to say something, anything, to him. He stared into her eyes, and realized that she had stopped crying, and was listening intently to the song.

_As he begins to raise his voice_

_You lower yours and grant him one last choice_

_Drive until you lose the road_

_Or break with the ones you've followed_

_He will do one of two things_

_He will admit to everything_

_Or he'll say he's just not the same_

_And you'll begin to wonder why you came_

He went over reasons as to why he came back, too. He didn't miss Konoha, or his old apartment, and certainly did not miss Naruto. In fact, missing someone was against his natural character. What made him come back...? Did he feel guilty?

This angered him. He, Uchiha Sasuke, _guilty_? Guilt, he had learned from Orochimaru, was a weakness, as was love. Anger and hatred, they were the key to power! ... So, why did he feel that what he was doing was wrong?

_Where did I go wrong, I lost a friend_

_Somewhere along in the bitterness_

_And I would have stayed up with you all night_

_Had I known how to save a life_

_Where did I go wrong, I lost a friend_

_Somewhere along in the bitterness_

_And I would have stayed up with you all night_

_Had I known how to save a life_

_How to save a life..._

_How to save a life..._

Her eyes met his and they were captured in each others' irises as the music quickened its tempo. She gave him a small smile and slipped her hand over his clenched fist, ignoring how cold it was. She edged herself closer to Sasuke, knowing how the song must have been affecting him, as it did her the first time she heard its awe-inspriring words.

_Where did I go wrong, I lost a friend  
Somewhere along in the bitterness_

_And I would have stayed up with you all night_

_Had I known how to save a life_

His eyes were forced shut, wishing desperately now that the song would end. These feelings that had been long buried were fighting desperately to get out, and he was trying his hardest not to lash out at the girl beside him for awakening them. He felt a small, warm hand slip over the hand nearest Sakura. He flinched only slightly before a slight, reassuring pressure calmed his restless mind.

_Where did I go wrong, I lost a friend_

_Somewhere along in the bitterness_

_And I would have stayed up with you all night_

_Had I known how to save a life_

He finally opened his eyes to find Sakura staring at him with heart melting eyes. He inwardly smiled wryly as he noted that he had a heart of stone that not even Sakura could melt.

_How to save a life_

_How to save a life..._

The piano continued for another couple of seconds and then...The song was finally over...

He turned away from Sakura, removing her hand from his as he did so. She stood and traveled around the bed so she could sit on the same side as he. Silence ensuedbetween the two. Finally, Sasuke breathed in and took the plunge. "Sakura, I--," was how he began.

The kunoichi raised a hand, which distracted and confused him into silence. She placed it over his forehead, and gave him a sad smile. "I know." She let her hand drop from the Uchiha's forehead and she passed an arm over his right shoulder and gave him a kind squeeze as she placed her other hand on his left shoulder. "It's alright."

She stayed like that for only a moment before leaving his apartment with a happy wave, masking her sadness at leaving Sasuke without a more affectionate apology. But that would have ruined everything: the moment, the closeness...It would have brought up awkward memories that he didn't need, right then.

He watched her departure, seeing Sakura in a new light. He understood, now, why she was so sad at his leaving Konoha. He _finally _understood. She had blamed herself. She, of all the people he could have blamed, was probably the only one, among others, who was innocent of the blame for his departure. He knew _why_ she blamed herself, as well. She thought it was her fault, the day when Orochimaru had attacked them during the Chuunin exams, that Sasuke had received the curse mark. He was protecting her and Naruto, that day, and she thought that if were not there, he would not have left Konoha and become an S-class criminal.

He finally understood her.

He finally knew how to save a life...

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Hey, guys! I'm sorry if the ending was confusing. You see, to me, you can save a life by understanding someone, and Sakura had known that way back when Sasuke left. She would have tried to talk him out of it ("_And I would have stayed up with you all night"_), but Sasuke knocked her out, and didn't listen to the rest. That's how it is to me. Warn me if Sasuke got OOC, because this is my first Naruto fic, as well as my first one shot.

Reviews, constructive criticism, and flames are all accepted. ESPECIALLY REVIEWS.

Much hearts from,

Little Lovely.


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